Lifting tongs



Oct. 15, 1929. A. LUTZ 1,731,674

- LIFTING TONGS Filed May 18, 1928 avwmtoz Patented Oct. 15 1929 I UNITED STATES ALFRED LUTZ, CHICAGO, ILLINOIE LIFTING fo ives Application filed May 18, 19 28 Seria1 Nb. 278,660.

This invention relates to lifting tongs and more particularly to such devices as are adapted for use under water for the purpose of raising submerged bodies such as submarine boats and the like.

In the raising of disabled submarine craft, one of the chief problems has been to pro- ,vide means for securely grappling the body to be raised and it is an object of this invention to provide a lifting tongs which may be efiectively used under water.

t is a further object of this invention to provide a grappling device or lifting tongs which increases its grip upon the body being lift-ed as the lifting force is increased.

These and other objects are attained by the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter shown and described in the accompanying drawing, constituting a material part of this disclosure, and

in which Figure 1 is an elevational view showing the manner in which the lifting tongs are applied to a submarine boat.

Figure 2 is a view showing details of the tongs.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 with some of the details of the apparatus omitted in order to more clearly disclose the shape of the tongs. V

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line H of Figure 2. r

Referring to the drawings, the lifting tongs are shown to consist of the two claws 5 and 6, which are pivotally connected toa head 7 by the pins 9 and 8 respectively.

In order to prevent breaking, the claws are made of reinforced steel and having a steel.

core 10 and an outer-sheet steel casing 10,

4 as shown in Figure 4. The inner surfaces of the claws are faced with rubber strips 11 to insure a tight grip on the body being raised.

The head 7 is provided with a central aperture 21 through which passes a plurality of inner cables 22, the latter being secured to a small head 13 at 23. The head 13 has a forked extremity and pivoted to each fork are the links 14, which in turn are pivoted to the links 15, the latter links being pivotally connected to the claws 5 and 6. It will thus be seen tliat'the' head-13 and the arrangement of the links 14 and 15 constitute a toggle,

wl'iich tends to straightena's thehead 13 is raised and the straightening of the toggle causes the claws "5 and 6 to move inwardly to tighten their grip. l

Connected to the upper surfaces of the'head 7 at points 20 are lifting cables 25. These cables are of necessity very strong, as the major portion of the weight of the submerged body'is applied to them during the lifting process I In operation, two divers are sent below to" securely apply the tongs to the submerged body andthe outer cables 18-are for the purpose of opening the tongs so that they'may be easily applied. These cables 18 are controlled by suitable machines above the surface of the water. 7

VVhen' the tongs have been properly applied to the body to be lifted, the divers signal and cables 22 are drawn upwardly, raising the head 13 to straighten the toggles for the purpose of tightly gripping the body. When the lifting tongs have been tightly applied to the body, cables 25, which pass over derricks, are drawn upwardly to lift the submerged body. When the body has been raised above the surface of the water, a large scow is pushed beneath it, thus relieving the strain on the derrick and lifting device. Cables 18 are then drawn taut to release the grip of the tongs on the body. I

In order to prevent rusting of the various pivoted elements of the lifting device, oil means, such as grease caps, should be provided at appropriate places.

From the above description, it will be seen that I have provided a simple, yet practicable and effective lifting tongs which is especially adapted for use in the raising of disabled submarine boats.

V The foregoing disclosure is to be regarded as descriptive and illustrative only and not as restrictive or limitative of the invention, of which obviously an embodiment may be constructed, including many modifications, without departing from the general scope herein indicated and denoted in the appended claims. I i

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A lifting tongs comprising a head having a forked extremity, a pair of claws pivoted to the forked extremity, a cable passing through a central aperture in said head a smaller forked head "posit'io 'aeol below the first mentioned head, toggle joints connecting said smaller head with the claws, said cable being fixed to the upper portion of the smaller head, pulleys supported by said claws, a plurality of cables passing over said pulleys, the

ends of each of said cables being fixed to the lower surface of the first mentioned head, anda plurality of cables fixed to the upper surface of said'h ead.

2, A lifting tongs comprising a forked and centrally bored larger head, a pair of claws pivoted to the fork of saidhcad, a steel core and an inner rubber facing for each of said claws, acable passing through the central boreof said head, a smaller forked head positioned below said first named head to which the end of'said cable is attached, toggle joints connectin said smaller head with said claws, lifting ca les attached to the upper face of the largerhead, pulleys supported by said claws, and cables passing over said pulleys securedat their ends to the underside of said larger headadapted to release the grip ofthe en In witness whereof I have afiixed my signature.

L RE L TZ- 

